Wisdoms from the Journey - Vol V (May to Dec 2012)

Wisdoms from the Journey
(Volume V … May thru Dec 12)
…a few of the in-Sight-full sayings
& inspirational images that
I have been blessed to gently gather
while wandering along my Way
via Scaughdt
an (i)am publication

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NOTE: This work is Purpose-fully non-copyrighted, and may therefore be copied, reprinted,
forwarded &/or gifted onward in whatever ways any of its readers deem fit. That having been
said, the author would also like to remind anyone so doing that, just as these Truths have been
given to all for free, so too should they be freely given onward to others – fully profitless to the
giver; without any additional costs or conditions attached for the recipients thereof.

“Any fool can know.
The point is to understand.”
~ Albert Einstein
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"Kindness is more important than wisdom,
and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom."
~ Theodore Rubin
"Without courage, wisdom bears no fruit."
~ Baltasar Gracian
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An Introduction to what Follows
Everyone ends up collecting something as they journey through Life … For me, I
simply ended up being drawn – while searching for “the truth” – to collect Truths.
Now, ideological “truth” is a funny thing; slippery according to circumstance and
very hard to pin down once captured … As such, it is very unlike Wisdom, which is
constant -- obvious and tangible and plain and unchanging.
Indeed (in-deed), even though we have been taught that Truth and Wisdom are
“kissing cousins”, in actuality they couldn’t be more different. “Truth” is conceptual,
while Wisdom is verifiable … “Truth” is knowledge – a noun, while Wisdom is the
setting that knowledge into harmonious motion – a verb … “Truth” ponders & theorizes
& hypothesizes, while Wisdom simply identifies what functions … “Truth” might
delineate our choices, and yet it is Wisdom that guides us towards making good ones …
“Truth” is intellectual; accumulating information and defining meanings. Wisdom is
practical; making “facts” (and therefore Life itself) Meaning-full … “Truth” changes
over time – contracting as old information is found lacking & expanding as new
information is found to bear “Good Fruit”, while Wisdom remains the constant
bellwether through which those evolutions ensue … “Truth” is a powerful tool – one
that is utterly useless (and even drastically dangerous) unless skillfully used in harmony
with acquired Wisdom … In essence, as one scholar once put it: “Truth is knowing that
a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is knowing not to put tomatoes into fruit salad.”
As such, it is the former – “Truth” – that I have gently abandoned as “false”, and
it is the latter – “Wisdom” – that I have repeatedly rediscovered to be True. And so it is
that while I do most humbly and most publicly now declare that I most certainly do not
have access to anything resembling “the Truth”, I most certainly have acquired access to
a set of principles & values that – to the degree that they are courageously applied &
enlivened – always prove to be Wise. And it is these same principles & values that are
represented by the words & images contained in the pages that follow …
May you each receive much Peace while reading them &/or gazing upon them,
and may at least a few of them inspire you to go forth and know the Bliss that only comes
to those who choose to put their Goodness into motion.
Amen … Let it be so.
Scaughdt
December 8, 2014
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Blossoming into You …
(05/01/2012)
There was once a great king who had three sons, and he wanted to choose
one to be his heir. It was very difficult, because all three were very intelligent,
very courageous, and very kind. Unable to choose between the three, he asked a
great sage, and the sage suggested an idea … The king went home, gathered his
three sons before him, and gave them each one bag of flower seeds. After doing
so, he told them that he was going on a pilgrimage and would be away for many
years. “This is a kind of test.” the King said. “Whosoever protects their seeds best
while I am gone will become my heir.” And he departed.
The first son chose to lock his seeds in an iron safe — because when the
father returned he wanted to give them back exactly as they were. The second son
thought, “If I lock them up just as my brother has done, these seeds will die.” So
he went into the market and sold the seeds and kept the money, thinking, “When
my father comes I will go to the market, purchase new seeds, and give him back
better than the first.” The third son looked at his bag of seeds for a moment,
smiled, and then went to a bare plot of earth in his father’s garden and scattered
the seeds all over the place.
After three years, the father returned and gathered his sons before him once
again. “Well my sons, how goes it with your seeds?” The first son opened his iron
safe, and his seeds were all dead, moldy & stinking. The second son rushed out of
the room to the market, purchased new seeds, and returned, saying, “These are
your seeds. They are too fresh for planting, but will be soon be just as good as the
ones you gave me years ago.” The father sighed and turned to the third son. “And
your seeds?” he asked. The third son took him back to the back corner of the
garden where there were millions of plants blooming, millions of flowers all
around. “These are the seeds you gave me, father” he said. “Soon I will collect the
seeds from these flowers and give them to you. Right now they are getting ready
to be collected.”
The father smiled and with a sense of deep contentment said, “You are my
heir. This is how one should behave with seeds.”
(story source unknown)
Yes, the seed is protected as long as it doesn’t bloom. It’s hard shell keeps
it safe from harm and its small size keeps it hidden from most dangers. And yet if
it doesn’t choose to bloom, it will die the greater death — the death of a life
unfulfilled.
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Similarly, as long as we remain mired in fears for our own safety &/or
desires for our own “wealth”, we too will remain “wasted seeds” – mere kernels of
the vast potential to do the Meaning-full Good that we have been given.
Great courage is required to reach out to others; great courage is required to
be kind to strangers & to forgive our enemies; great courage is required to blossom
into who we truly ARE … And yet, even if we do so for only one day — even if
we give just one glimpse of that greater Beauty, our lives will take on more
meaning and worth than the “lives” of millions upon millions of seeds.
LOVE means opening up to others …
LOVE means setting aside personal desires & reaching through personal
fears in order to be Kind …
LOVE means — even if only for a few minutes each day — choosing to
bloom into the deeply Caring person you deeply truly are.
So …. got LOVE?
“And the day came when the drive to blossom forth in Love became
more powerful than the desire to remain hidden tight in a bud.”
~ inspired by Anais Nin
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Winning Life …
(05/03/2012)
There is the “love” of “healthy boundaries” that strives to gets its “fair
share” of intimacy. Funny thing is, even when you “win” this game — while you
are indeed safe from harm, you remain separated from everyone & everything
around you … In “winning” this game, you actually lose.
And then there a far deeper LOVE, one that knows only giving; that strives
only to open up to those in need; that doesn’t care what happens as a consequence.
And the funny thing is, even when you “lose” this way — even if you are hurt or
“used” or persecuted in the process, you immerse yourself fully in your world …
And so in “losing” this game, you actually WIN.
LOVE remembers that we are all in this together. LOVE remembers that
the only way to truly WIN in life … is to choose to “Lose”.
“Loving people live in a loving world & hostile people live in a hostile
world – and yet it is the same world.” ~ Wayne Dyer
“Our sense of victory just means that we guarded our heart enough that
nothing got through … Whenever this happens, the armor around our wounded
heart becomes more fortified, and our world becomes smaller.” ~ Pema Chodron
“Real love is a pilgrimage. It happens when there is no strategy, and yet
real Love is very rare -- because most people are strategists.” ~ Anita Brookner
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Tending the Garden …
(05/04/2012)
We are not here to “help” others with our “constructive criticism” (there is
no such thing). Rather, we are here to look for those who are down & out – to look
for those who feel sad or defeated or broken -- and build them up again …
We are not here to find what is “broken” in others and try to “fix it” (even if
we could find it, we can’t repair anyone but ourselves). Rather, we are here to look for
the Good in others and emphasize it — compliment it — announce to the world
that we, at least, SEE the beautiful being who is before us.
We are not here to tell other people how they are to live or behave or
believe (all literally none of our business). Rather, we are here to unconditionally &
jubilantly support them by cheering them onward — regardless of the lifestyle &
the beliefs & the Life Mission that they have chosen to live or believe or follow.
Simply put, everyone you meet is a genius in one way or another. There is
something truly important that you can learn from every person on this planet (If
you look for it, you will find it). Even more importantly, there is also a Great Good
in everyone you meet — a Great Good that you can help to blossom if you but
have the humility to See it, and the courage to call it forth with an act of radically
enthusiastic Kindness.
For plants to grow, their seeds must be watered, and for their flowers to
bloom fully, those plants must be tended with Care.
Your LOVE is the pure sustenance of every
friend, stranger & enemy you meet … Your
LOVE is what reawakens them to who they truly
are … Your LOVE is their water, your
Compassion is their soil and your Kindness their
sunlight.
Indeed, your life is your Garden, and you
are your Universe’s greatest Gardener … So have
fun tending that Garden today, my Friends.
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Through the clouds …
(05/05/2012)
“I am not sure how clouds get formed. But the clouds know how to do it,
and that is the important thing.” ~ an anonymous child
It always happens — no matter how we strive for a life filled only with
Light, darkness always follows. No matter how we claw and scratch for a life
filled with excitement & fun, boredom & drudgery always follow. No matter how
dedicated we are to filling our lives with relationships that are perfectly loving,
disappointment always follows … And yet this does not have to be the case.
The solution to this conundrum lies not in finally obtaining the “right light”
or the “better fun” or the “perfect love”. No, as long as we are fighting for our
own happiness, we will indeed remain destined to reap the suffering & the
meaninglessness that are natural consequences of such struggles … And yet, there
is an alternative: We can continue to revel in the “good times”, of course, and --
when the “bad times” do eventually arrive, we can choose to make them Purposefull
… with expressions of gratitude as well as with acts of Love.
“Thunder is a rich source of loudness.” ~ another anonymous child
So, if the clouds are gathering in your life today — if the boredom has you
staring into space or the pain is getting to be too much or the frustration has
reached the point where you just want to scream, take a deep breath … and
remember. Remember that you are alive … Remember that Beauty is always all
around you … & most important of all, re-member that every act of Caring you do
while “in the darkness” sends a ray of Light so powerful that it directly pierces the
gloom of another. Just a bit of eye-contact, just a light touch on the shoulder, just
a gentle smile -- each are enough to lift the clouds from another’s life … and
thereby lift them from your own.
LOVE is not bathing in
life’s sunshine, as much as it is
bringing the Sun’s warmth to
another … So -- got LOVE?
“I will radiate cheer to
everyone I meet today. I will be
mental sunshine for all who
cross my path.” ~ Paramahansa
Yogananda
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Standing up for God …
(05/06/2012)
“Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in
your garage makes you a car.” ~ G. K. Chesterton
Recent surveys show that almost 75% of the American population
considers itself to be “Christian” in one form or another, with around 100 million
of those folks attending a Christian church and listening to a Christian sermon
from a Christian preacher on any given Sunday … Now, there’s nothing wrong
with that, of course. Freedom of religion is one of the founding pillars of the
United States, and there is indeed much Good to be found in the Christian faith.
Each person’s religious choice is there’s alone to make, just as each person’s
spiritual journey is there’s alone to walk.
That having been said, it might be helpful for Christians and non-Christians
alike to realize that much of what is relayed in the average Christian church each
Sunday has very little to do with the actual teachings of Jesus Christ found in the
Bible … And it might be equally helpful for Christians and non-Christians alike to
realize that Jesus himself really didn’t give a flying flip about what religion people
chose — and that he most certainly didn’t want people to make a new religion out
of himself. Rather, he quite clearly stated in the Bible that he wanted us to
“follow” him — for us to courageously emulate the radical Way of Love that he so
courageously lived. (see Mark 10:18, though there are hundreds of other verses also showing
this to be the case)
By all indications, Jesus was one of those rare men & women who had the
courage to truly walk Love’s unconditional talk, dramatically showing us all not
only that Loving our enemies, Forgiving our trespassers, and Caring for the poor
are “right things to do” — but also that when we do actually exude the Courage
necessary to put such pure Love in motion, it actually works … Of course, deep
down, you already know this to
be True. But heck, don’t take
my word for it …
Go and see for your Self!
“And this is my sole
Commandment: Love one
another in the same way I have
Loved you.” ~ Jesus Christ
(John 15:12)
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Pulling the Plug …
(05/07/2012)
“The era of manufacturing consent has given way to the era of manufacturing
news. Soon media newsrooms will drop the pretense, and start hiring theater directors
instead of journalists.” ~ Arundhati Roy
We aren’t going to bring about any real change in our communities by
using the same means that co-created our “mess” in the first place … and mass
media is one of the prime culprits in this regard.
I’ve got some news for you: “the news” these days is NOT here to keep you
informed. Rather, it is here to keep you distracted (a.k.a. “entertained”) – it is here
to keep you afraid of your neighbor — it is here to keep you believing that you are
“too small” to make a difference — it is here to keep you feeling that you need
protection from the “powers that be” in order to survive … Essentially, it is here to
keep you from remembering the only Truth that holds any worth anymore: the
Truth that you are still free to re-create your community; that your are still the
one truly “in control” of your life; that no one can ever stop you from reaching
out to Care.
Want some proof that you are still running your own “show”? Try the
following: Get up right now, walk over to your TV, and unplug it. Now simply
go one week without plugging it back in again and see what a HUGE positive
difference that simple act makes in your life …
If you stop allowing yourself to be spoon-fed the “truth” that those “in
power” want you to believe, you just might look around and see that there is
another Reality waiting for you; another Reality that knows that people are
actually amazingly Wonder-full -- that every one of your acts of Kindness is not
“small” at all -- that you actually CAN make a huge difference in your
neighborhood -- that we actually CAN come together and make this world a
fantastic place in which to live & learn & Love … And it all starts with the guts to
simply reach out & pull the plug.
So … got some GUTS?
“It is necessary for all of us to awaken in
ourselves this spirit of cooperation, for then it
will not be a mere plan or agreement which
causes us to work together, but an extraordinary
feeling of togetherness, the sense of joy in being
and doing together without any thought of
reward or punishment.” ~ J. Krishnamurti
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“Getting it” …
(05/12/2012)
A Yogi walked into the Zen Pizza Parlor and said:
… “Make me ONE with everything.”
(get it?)
The proprietor later returned with the pizza, smiled at the Yogi, and said:
… “Here, you are.”
(get it?)
The Yogi smiled as well and gave the proprietor a $20 bill for the $12
pizza. The proprietor looked at the Yogi’s outstretched hand, smiled again and
said: … “Change must come from within.” Both of them then proceeded to laugh.
(get it?)
We can only be truly ONE with everything while we are acting accordingly
… just as we can only “make it” to where we already Are. Real change is not a
mental phenomenon, my Friends. Real change comes when we actively become
the change we wish to see.
For most of us, Kindness is that change, and NOW is the time to show it.
So, if you understand this Truth … if you “get it”,
… then please go forth and BE IT!
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Waking UP …
(05/13/2012)
“The very essence of life is change … If we did not regard objects or states
of existence from the standpoint of possession or selfish enjoyment, we should not
feel in the least troubled by their change or even their disappearance.” ~ Lama
Anagarika Govinda
Each second in your life is unique & priceless & filled with Beauty … So
pause right now and take a look around you … Allow a deep Gratitude to rise up
from your Heart … & enJOY!
“The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and
mystery. There is always more mystery.” ~ Anais Nin
If you think your life is “normal” … or boring … or tedious … or repetitive
… or run-of-the-mill … or just plain “plain” … If you wake up some mornings &
feel like you are still super sleepy but there’s no cool water to splash in your face
… If you go to bed some nights feeling like this whole “life” thing just doesn’t
have much purpose & just doesn’t make much sense … then pause for a moment
and THINK AGAIN!
And, once you have taken an instant
or two to look around — to really LOOK
around you; once you have the guts & the
gumption to open up and SEE it all anew;
once you have the humility to open up to the
Joy-fully amazed Caringness that is who You
truly Are in this phenomenal adventure that
is your Life -- Once you have done that …
well, then I suggest that you simply rise and
climb out of your prior darkness. I suggest
you climb up into the light of the Wonderfull
… I suggest you go forth immediately &
do something crazily radically fantabulously
Kind with your newly re-found You.
My dear Friends, there is absolutely
nothing at all that is “normal” about your
one-in-a-gazillion conscious existence …
Please act accordingly today.
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Pushing the River …
(05/14/2012)
To be truly Happy, we must choose to revel in our time … And to truly
revel in our time, we must choose to serve others … And to truly serve others, we
must choose to do the Good Deeds that are already available to us … And to truly
Do these Good Deeds, we must cease striving for what could be “better” — we
must cease waiting for services that are “important” or “interesting” to someday
come to us, & simply reach out to perform those that are already sitting right in
front of us.
In essence, in order to get where we are are meant to Go — in order to Be
the Change we wish to See, we’ve got to quit compl;aing about what “could be”
and fighting for what “could be” and instead choose to fully & Care-fully embrace
what already IS.
Love requires having the
humility to quit banging our
heads against the Sumo’s belly
… It requires that we bow to
him instead.
So, … got Love?
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Shining ON …
(05/15/2012)
“Hoping the cool night
finds you in full amazement –-
simply living,
… & Loving.
… & moving onward.
Miracles in every moment.”
~ Heather Peroni
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To a man of LOVE …
(05/16/2012)
“Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers, and me.” ~ Kermit the Frog
Twelve years ago today, Jim Henson passed away … For those of you who
don’t know, Henson was not only one of the founding fathers of Sesame Street,
but he also created The Muppet Show (still good for a laugh or two — or a dozen or two)
and “The Dark Crystal” (a film of pure genius & deep insight) … Just as importantly as
what he created, however, was what Jim Henson believed in, for by all indications,
Jim Henson believed in Giving — specifically in giving laughter & in giving
Kindness. (Reportedly, whenever he didn’t like an idea, Henson refused to criticize it, instead
simply pausing and uttering a soft “Hmmmm” …)
Personally, I think Jim tapped into a Great Truth of Living: that in order for
our most profound dreams to truly come True, we must choose to dream in
Harmony with our surroundings — we must choose to dream differently — we
must choose to dream much less about getting, and much more about Giving.
So I send great thanks to Jim Henson today — for giving me so much
laughter in my youth, and for inspiring me to Care with so much Kindness today.
“The world has
dreamers & the world
has doers … Of course,
what the world really
needs is dreamers who
DO.” ~ inspired by
Sarah Ban Breathnach
“I’ve got a dream
too, but it’s about
singing and dancing
and making people
happy. That’s the kind
of dream that gets
better the more people
you share it with.” ~
Kermit the Frog
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Crossing anyway …
(05/17/2012)
Master: “There are people of the fog, and there are people of the sun.”
Student: “I’m still not sure which kind I am.”
Master: “Fog will do that to you.”
Fog people don’t know which way is best, so they wait until they can “be
sure” before setting forth … Sun people don’t know which way is best, yet they
act anyway. Even though they cannot see the other side of the bridge, Sun people
walk on across, steadily & surely, step-by-step … Even though Sun people cannot
be sure that their acts of Kindness will be received or ever “do any good”, they
choose to be Kind anyway.
Each and every one of us is both a “fog person” and a “Sun person”, and
each & every one of us gets to choose which of the two we will be in every
moment of our lives …
Yes, it is reasonable to be afraid when faced with the unknown … Yes, it is
reasonable to want “the best” for you & yours … And yes, it is reasonable to only
be nice to those people we like or to those who will receive our gifts joyfully.
And yet, Life is so much more than what is merely reasonable.
Choosing to live in the fog of fear (with “carefulness”, “safety” &
“prudence”) is fine, of course … And yet we’ve only got this one life to LIVE —
we’ve only got this one chance to cross that Bridge.
So why not take a
step today? …
Why not choose
the Sun?
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You too are Loved …
(05/18/2012)
“Though we have not yet met, I know you still, for your thoughts reach out
through space & time to where your hopes and hurts are a part of me, and we are
one together in a world unbounded … There, my essence will you find in every
growing leaf. For we are no more alone than the Sun in its heaven.”
~ Fred Lansford
LOVE does not need to “know someone” to deeply Care, just as LOVE
does not need to “be friends” to reach out with gentle empathy … Indeed, LOVE
does not need anything at all other than the opportunity to Love.
So, even though most of us have never met — even though we do not yet
“know each other” & may not yet ever become “friends”,
… know regardless today that YOU ARE LOVED.
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Wandering with Purpose …
(05/20/2012)
“A pilgrim is a wanderer with purpose.” ~ Peace Pilgrim
Exactly one year ago today I completed my 40 day, 900+ mile Peace
Pilgrimage from Chattanooga (Tennessee) to Pompano Beach (Florida). I did so
“on Faith”, traveling the entire distance without using any money whatsoever and
never once asking anyone for either food or shelter. Needless to say, it was quite
the experience, and might one day make a great book … And yet, that is not why I
am writing today … Today, I am writing to let you all know that each and every
one of you are already walking a Pilgrimage with just as much potential — that
each and every one of you are already living lives of great Power & great
Meaning. Indeed, it is not necessary to walk hundreds of miles “on Faith” to
inspire others … It is not necessary to give up all your possessions or to dedicate
every waking moment to Love in order to become a potent Force for Good.
You see, every moment of your life is itself a Pilgrimage; every instant is
filled with immense Power into which you can tap. Every meeting with another
person is an opportunity to set forth towards the greatest of all destinations —
unconditional LOVE. And it doesn’t take 40 days of difficulty to get there
… All it takes is the guts to reach out and openly Care.
“We never touch others so lightly, that we do not leave some trace.” ~ Peg Millin
Every time we look away — every time we refuse to take this very short
yet all-powerful Journey, we contribute to what is “wrong” with the world. And
yet every time we have the Courage to reach out to another human being —
especially when it is difficult to do so (i.e. to life’s strangers or to our enemies), we
gently shake the Universe … And so, my dear Friends, I leave you today with the
fondest of fare-wells; wishing for you all the deep Peace & unbridled Joy that only
come to those who choose to take the
shortest and yet grandest of Journeys
… the Journey to radical Kindness.
“May your travels be safe, but not
cautious … And though it not be that for
which you ask, may you receive
compassion. May you encounter
challenges and conquer their
reservations, and may those difficulties
strengthen your faith. May your steps
evoke seeking … and may your words
inspire Love.” (~ with Katie Kasch)
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Some real Righteousness …
(05/22/2012)
“Our job is to Love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they
are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we
are asked to do is to Love, and this Love itself will render both ourselves and our
neighbors worthy.” ~ Thomas Merton
When others tell you that radical Kindness won’t work … when they scoff
at your acts of forgiveness to the “wicked” and criticize your acts of generosity
towards the “undeserving” … when they openly nay-say your Loving efforts with
a loud “That’s impossible”, choose to hear what they are actually saying.
Remember that what they are really doing in such moments is making an
admission – they are admitting that they do not understand how the Universe truly
works – they are admitting that they have chosen to champion fear over Courage
& self-protection over Community – they are admitting that they have sided with
what is broken instead of helping with mending the world.
This is fine, of course. Everyone has a right to choose whether they are
going to support what already is (fear) or to further what is soon to become (Love).
Simply remember that choosing the latter is not an obligation … it is a privilege.
So, my Friends, when you
choose to be Kind & your
Kindness is rejected or
ridiculed, remember to send
gentle Compassion to your
scoffers … and then KEEP
LOVING THEM ANYWAY.
Remember that positive
change isn’t impossible —
positive change is
inevitable.
And remember that real
LOVE isn’t impossible
… real LOVE is that change!
21

The Communi-tree …
(05/23/2012)
“With the passage of days in this divine isolation, my heart grew calm. It
seemed to fill with answers … Everything – where we came from, where we are
going, what our purpose is on earth – struck me as extremely sure and simple in
this God-trodden isolation. Little by little my blood took on the godly rhythm … I
saw the world as a gigantic poplar, and myself as a green leaf clinging to a
branch with my slender stalk. When God’s wind blew, I hopped and danced,
together and one with the entire tree.” ~ with Nikos Kazantzakis
Solitude allows us to come to remember our Oneness … Solitude,
ironically, reminds us that we are here for others & not for ourselves … Solitude
awakens us to the Truth that we are One with all our brothers & sisters … And
solitude calls us to act accordingly.
So find a place of Peace today & sink into it slowly, with gratitude &
reverence … and after doing so, choose to return to your Life Power-fully …
… by re-turning to Life to LOVE.
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Patience with Persistence …
(05/24/2012)
“One of my most favorite examples about the power of persistence is the
story of an Asian species of bamboo that even after five years of watering,
weeding and fertilizing is barely visible. Then -- in a span of only about six weeks
-- it grows two and a half feet a day until it gets to be upwards of 90 feet tall. It
grows so fast in that time that you can literally “hear” it growing. The question to
ask ourselves, then, is: Did the bamboo grow 90 feet in six weeks, or did it grow
90 feet in five years?” ~ Vic Johnson
The answer to Vic’s question is, of course, “YES!” … The bamboo grew
90 feet “slowly” over five years, AND it grew very rapidly to 90 feet in six weeks.
Without the extended period of dormancy, the rapid growth spurt would not have
occurred, AND the growth itself was indeed quite rapid. As such, both statements
are equally true.
Very similarly, even though you might not think you are ready to let your
True Self shine, rest assured that your True Self is indeed Ready – that it has been
building up its vast [potential ever since you were born, and that it will sprout
forth jubilantly the instant you summon it forth.
Now your ego will try and tell you that you still have “lots to learn” before
you ca step boldly out onto the Path to Peace. The Truth of the matter is, however,
that your Soul has been gestating “in the ground” for quite long enough, and that it
is high time for you to sprout forth who you truly Are instead … It is indeed high
time for us all to grow forth powerfully -- by being Kind when least inclined.
23

Swimming in The River …
(05/24/2012)
“There is a river flowing now very fast — so great and swift that there are those
who will be afraid. They will try to hold onto the shore. They will feel they are being torn
apart and will suffer greatly. We must come to understand that the river has its own
destination, one that will not be swayed. And so we must let go of the shore. We must
push off into the middle of the river, while keeping our eyes fully open and our heads
above water. And then, we must remember to look around and see who is in there with us
… and celebrate.” ~ Hopi Prayer
Though there is only one River, within it flows channels infinite — each
one flowing ultimately to the same sea; the Sea of Peace … And yet to know this
Peace, swim the River you must. It is not enough to stand on the banks and
admire its crashing rapids … It is not enough to sit and wonder what awaits those
who brave its waters … It is not enough to merely dip your foot in its coolness;
and it is even not enough to wade in up to your neck and then return to shore. No,
in order for us to receive the River’s priceless gift, we must give It our lives — we
must give it everything.
Yes, for the River to carry you where you need to go, you must abandon all
hope and dive completely in … You must release all fears and swim to the middle
… You must let go of all that you desire and let the current take you where it will.
This River isn’t “success”, nor is it “salvation” or even “happiness” … The River
is Caring for the uncaring, forgiving the unforgivable and being Kind to strangers
… The River is serving our enemies and giving to our communities, especially
when we have almost nothing left to give. The River, my Friends, is LOVE …
Its waters may
seem cold at first, and its
rapids may seem deadly,
and yet it is the only way
Home, and it waits to
carry you there …
LOVE is the River, my
Friends — so dive in!
“The place God calls you
to is where your deep
gladness and the world’s
deep hunger meet.” ~
Frederick Buechner
24

Meaning in Living …
(05/25/2012)
Frank Oz, co-creator and original voice of Yoda, turns 68 today (Happy
Birthday, Frank!) … And while the statement in the image below was not actually
uttered by Yoda himself, I’m pretty sure that he would support its sentiment. Yes,
the younger, CGI Yoda was indeed sometimes a bit overly aggressive, and yet as
he aged (and became Oz’s Muppet), his understanding of The Way of Oneness
obviously blossomed.
Just like the rest of us will at some point before we die, Yoda finally got it
— he finally understood that we are all One, and that our lives only have real
Purpose when we choose to act accordingly.
So, for your enlightenment, your inspiration & also your enJoyment, I offer
the following Yoda wisdoms (compiled with Purpose ahead of chronology):
“Powerful you have become, the dark side I sense in you … Grave danger
you are in … Ohhhhh, great warrior. Wars not make one great … You must
unlearn what you have learned … Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to
anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering … Train yourself to let go of
everything you fear to lose … Your weapons, you will not need them … Do or do
no; there is no try. ” ~ Yoda
[Yoda:] “Size matters not.”
[Luke:] “I can’t believe it.
[Yoda:] “That is why you fail.”
25

The Good Man …
(05/26/12)
“A man is good when he finds Joy in serving others, and considered
evil when he takes joy in harming them. He is virtuous when he finds Peace
in a selfless life, and considered sinful when he takes pleasure in a selfcentered
one. Hence, the things we are choosing to serve in any given
moment are in effect telling us exactly who we are choosing to be.”
~ inspired by Thomas Merton
We have many choices in each moment, and therefore many different
manifestations of self in each day. And yet through it all, we remain the
same perfect, Caring Being for all of eternity …
Today is a great day to re-member this Truth.
26

Becoming civilized …
(05/29/2012)
Having a superior intelligent is one thing; becoming deeply Civilized is
quite another … Yes, we humans are indeed an advanced, highly intelligent
species. And yes, we can communicate verbally, make & use complex tools,
innovate technological machines and color coordinate our clothes … And all of
these are truly great accomplishments (especially the latter), and yet -- even though
these traits do indeed make us “smarter” than the other sentient species on Earth,
they do not make us more Civilized. In essence, while it is true that we are
human, we are still far from Humane – we are still far from being truly Civilized.
Civilized species do not kill (or even condemn) each other over their
religious beliefs … Civilized species do not take more than they need from their
planet … and Civilized species forgive their trespassers and share with those in
need – all characteristics that we humans still for the most part fail to exhibit.
And please realize that it is far more important to be Civilized than to be
smart; that it is far more important to be Kind than it is to be “powerful”; and that
it is far more important to be a humble servant than it is to be a “powerful ruler”.
We may be pretty clever, we humans, and yet we have a long way to go
before we qualify as truly Civilized. It is a very high peak with which we are
collectively faced, and it is a peak – if we are to survive as a species – that we
must soon begin to climb … And that long climb starts with you, and it starts
today. Indeed, every step you take gets us a bit closer to waking UP -- every
anonymous deed of Kindness you do for a friend, every gentle smile you give to a
stranger, every sincere forgiveness you send to an enemy, all bring us that much
closer to becoming what we were put here to become; namely, Caring Caretakers
of this glorious planet.
Every act counts — Every
act is significant.
LOVE is the true civility, my
Friends …
… got LOVE?
27

The shoulders of Giants …
(06/02/2012)
A good Friend of mine passed away yesterday morning. His transition came
as no surprise, as he had been chronically ill for many months previous, and yet
the loss was palpable all the same …
Death is an interesting phenomenon for us humans. In lives overflowing
with choice and free will, it is truly our only inevitability -- the only thing that is
certainly certain about our future. And yet we all seem to avoid any focused
thought as to its slow & steady approach – often engaging in behaviors essentially
meaningless and often dealing with others with a most callous whim. Indeed,
most of us show no signs of concern whatsoever related to death’s inevitable
approach. In essence, even though we are all destined for death, most of us still
choose to live as though we will never die.
And yet this makes a bit of sense, for if we were to wake up each morning
and force ourselves to consciously remember that we are already dying; that today
could very well be our last day on Earth; that life is truly as precious as it is
fleeting, then we would be equally compelled to live accordingly …
… and this would require a drastic change in how we fill our days.
For if we were to regularly pause and remember our own mortality, we
would not only stop at least once every hour to wonder over the immense Beauty
that gently enfolds us in every smile & every sunrise, but we would also set forth
each morning to make that priceless day a truly Meaning-full one …
We would spend a lot more time Caring for others and a lot less time caring
about what we have to spend. We would strive to be successful, of course, and yet
a truly Success-full day would be one in which we did something Kind for another
for which we received nothing in return. For when we stop for even one instant
and rally think about it, these are the only things that truly matter — these are the
memories that will bring others Joy & therefore us, Peace.
Shakespeare once wrote that, “Cowards die many deaths … The valiant
taste death but once.” And when I think of this quote, I like to think that
Shakespeare knew what cowardice & courage truly are — that cowardice is not
running from a fight, but rather being presented with the opportunity to reach out
to a stranger but choosing to look away; that Courage is not going fearlessly into
battle, but rather being too tired or too afraid or too busy to reach out to a stranger
… and yet reaching out to them anyway.
28

I like to think that my departed Friend had been Brave in this sense while
he was alive … I like to think that he had filled his life with Meaning-full
moments before he lay down for his final rest … I like to think that he could lay
in peace on his deathbed and calmly reflect in deep Contentment upon a life truly
well-lived.
Personally, I knew him as an exceptionally Kind man, and I feel honored to
have known him. His life was a beacon of laughter, and yet it is his death that I
honor today — a passing that reminds me that my life too is priceless; that I too
have only a few days left upon which to make my mark for Goodness; that I too
must live today as though it is my last — that I must live today for Love.
Thank you for that, Horst …
Rest in Peace, my Friend.
“When the commonplace ‘We must all die’ transforms itself into the acute
consciousness ‘I must die–and soon,’ then death grapples us, and his fingers are
cruel … Afterwards, he comes to fold us in his arms as our mother did, and our
last moment of dim earthly discerning becomes like the first.” ~ George Eliot
(in loving memory of Horst Boss,
who passed onward yesterday
after 79 years of Love & Laughter)
29

The Glowing Door …
(06/01/2012)
In all the religions there are primarily teachers. They teach you about
subjects of which you cannot truly know, and they ask you to simply believe them
because there is no way for you to bring their truths into your objective reality.
On the other hand, radical Kindness is not a mere believer’s world; it is not
for those of mere faith. Rather, it is for those daring Souls who can drop all belief,
unbelief, doubt, reason & mind, in order to enter into their lives fully … It is for
those who refuse to care about what happens to them, while they simply choose to
Care … It is for those who refuse to worry about what their Love will or will not
effectuate, while they simply choose to Love.
And yet even though there are no guarantees here, such a lifestyle does indeed
bring tremendous transformation. While others are involved in worship or
philosophizing, those immersed in radical Kindness are involved in a real metamorphosis
— in a profound reawakening to who they truly are and who they always have been — in
living lives that are filled with deep Meaning; filled with a selfless Love that changes
them from the base metal of fear & yearning into the pure gold of Peace & Joy.
And yet to experience this Truth, the
language of deep Caring must be truly
understood — not with the intellectual mind,
but rather with the loving Heart. After a time
of courageously venturing forth into living
LOVE as a verb instead of thinking of it as a
concept — after a time of making Kindness
real in your life (even while remaining
unsure that Caring for another selflessly is
“effective” or even “right”), there comes a
moment when you suddenly feel the Peace
which has been eluding you for your entire
life previous … There comes that moment of
perfect Harmony when you feel a complete
Oneness with this glorious life and
everything in it. Suddenly, just as Buddha
said, your Heart’s “eighty-four thousands
doors” open wide and it deeply connects with
everyone & everything around you … Such a
Life of Meaning is waiting patiently for you
behind a gate that is ever-unlocked.
So go ahead, Friend … open UP!
(~ inspired by Osho)
30

Love laughs anyway …
(06/05/12)
“Humor is when one laughs despite it all.”
~ Otto Bierbaum
“Humor ist, wenn Mann trotzdem lacht.”
~ Horst Boss (1933 – 2012)*
(*Horst was often heard quoting this particular wisdom …
… always while laughing, of course.)
31

Seeing the Truth …
(06/07/2012)
If you are going to criticize others’ behaviors or judge their beliefs,
you are going to go your entire life without truly SEEING anyone at all …
for if you want to really KNOW another person, you are going to have to do
a lot more than merely look at their actions or listen to their words …
… You are going to have the Courage to look a lot deeper.
And if you do happen to look that closely and still don’t find any
Goodness residing within, it doesn’t mean that Love isn’t there …
… It means you haven’t looked deep enough.
(pic quote from Antoine de St. Exupery)
32

Finding real LOVE …
(06/12/2012)
“Go where Love has yet to tread” is a bit misleading … for Love the
noun is always everywhere.
What is most often missing is LOVE the verb …
That’s the one that can’t show up unless we do the showing.
33

Waking Up to Love …
(06/09/2012)
“Two men, a philosopher & a mystic, were lost in a forest on a very dark
night. It was a very dangerous forest, full of wild animals, very dense, with
darkness all around. Suddenly, there was a storm, a crashing of the clouds, and
great lightning. In fear, the philosopher looked to the sky, while the mystic calmly
looked at the ground around him. In that moment of lightning, the path was
illuminated. The philosopher had looked instead at the lightning, wondering what
was happening, and thereby missed the path.” ~ inspired by Osho
We are all walking in a forest denser than the one in this story. With our
primitive senses and still-infant scientific understanding, it is impossible to deeply
comprehend our lives, much less know which way to go to reach real fulfillment.
It truly is as though we too are walking in the darkness …
And yet, sometimes for us as well there is a flash of lightning. Sometimes
there is a spark of wisdom that lights The Way before us. It is often a flash that
speaks of the unthinkable; that encourages raw Courage; that startles us with its
brilliance. Jesus was lightning … Lao Tzu was lightning … Buddha was lightning
… Rumi was lightning … Gandhi was lightning … Peace Pilgrim was lightning.
When our nights are darkest, these and those like them flash the lightning of their
Wisdom upon our respective Paths.
And when this illumination does arrive – and arrive again it will, look not
to the heavens; look not to the source of that brilliant glow … for that’s like
studying for years what it means to dance, without ever setting foot on the dancefloor;
without ever swaying to the music. After all, if you analyze the source of the
Light, you will miss your chance to see that upon which it shines.
If you look for the lightning — if you loom for the radiant Truth of
unconditional Love that resides within every religion’s storm-cloud of dogma -- if
you look for it, you will merely glimpse shadows of its Beauty; a Beauty you will
not find in the darkness; a darkness that will then close about you once again.
No, if you use those waning rays to look for the Light itself, you will miss
The Path upon which it briefly shined.
34

No, when the flash of Truth comes to you, look not to the heavens; look
instead to The Path it sets aglow.
For the Light does not come for you to marvel at its Beauty, the Light
comes to show you your Way … For the Light has not come to be loved by you,
the Light has come to show you where you can Love … For the Light shines not
upon your future; it shines upon your life — right here; right now — in this one
priceless handful of forever.
So set aside your lightning-chasing … Set aside your search for “truth” and
“wisdom” and “salvation” and “happiness”. Look around you instead. Look for
those in need of a smile or a gentle hand … Look for those yearning for a warm
greeting or a warm cup of tea. For they are your Path; a Path upon which all the
Great Ones have already walked — a path they are all gently urging you to follow.
My Friends, the next Great Storm has arrived in your part of the wilderness
… The next lightning bolt is even now illuminating your Way.
Don’t look up — look around you instead!
Right now … look around your life and See your Path.
See your Path … and then, even into the depths of the renewed darkness,
set forth boldly upon it.
“When you start really living, ordinary things are transformed into
extraordinary Beauty … Life consists of many small encounters, and yet when you
bring the quality of intense, passionate Caring to them, they are transformed —
they become luminous.” ~ inspired by Osho
35

Remembering The Walk …
(06/10/2012)
“For in hearts doth Nature stir them so
Then people longing to pilgrim go
And palmers seeking foreign strands
To distant shrines in sundry lands.”
~ Geoffrey Chaucer
3 years 7 months & 9 days ago, I completed my first Camino de Santiago;
walking for 40 days from the French Pyrenees all the way to the northwest coast
of Spain. It was one of the more amazing adventures of my life; a Journey that
seemed to take me much further within myself than the 555+ miles my feet carried
me … It is a journey I still enjoy incorporating into my current life; a journey I
still enjoy sharing with others.
For those who don’t know, the Camino is a pilgrimage route that has been
used consistently for well over 1000 years. I find it amazing that this Path
remained so constant despite the volatile changes that repeatedly swept over
Europe during the past 12 centuries.
And this is especially remarkable to me when I consider the fact that folks
have been drawn over & over & over again to walk its length from all corners of
the globe and for all sorts of different reasons — to test their faith, to find God, to
find themselves …
I have traveled all over the world and I have visited quite a few “sacred
spaces” while doing so, and yet for me the Camino remains in a class all by itself.
Simply stated, it is one long ribbon of Transformation … It seems safe to say that
those who walk its length cannot help but be touched by the Divine; that to walk it
humbly & earnestly is to be truly reBorn.
36

“Pilgrims are poets who create by taking journeys.” ~ Richard R. Niebuhr
Of course, not everyone in the world will make it to Santiago, which is
perfectly fine. Each one of us is walking a Pilgrimage with even greater
transformative power — the Pilgrimage of Life. You certainly do not need to go
to Spain to rediscover your True Self … You can do that anywhere.
And yet, there really is something to traditional pilgrimage; there really are
some places on this Earth that seem to assist one’s journey of Self-Discovery.
Some of you might be interested in making the Camino a part of your own
awakening; some of you might hear It whispering on the wind; calling you to
come and go for walk …
To honor this interest (and to honor the Camino itself), I posted 499 images
from my journey on Facebook, and then later released a Camino “travel journal”
in pdf format to some Friends per email. It felt good to let folks “walk with me”,
even though I had long-since returned … Recently I felt called to make the
Camino available to everyone, so I’ve updated each entry — resized images,
edited text and added some quotes, and the finished product is now online.
So, whether you plan on walking the Camino or not … enJOY the Trip!
http://inspiringthealtruisticmoment.com/blog/?cat=1265
“Stripped of all its outer encrustations, spirituality emerges as a science, as
scientific as any other, as verifiable in its results. Let any seeker take it up and let him
create in the laboratory of the soul the conditions that are prerequisite; and as sure as
the day follows the night shall he rise into the Kingdom of God.” ~ Sant Kirpal Singh
37

Again as a Child …
(06/11/2012)
When I first read in the Bible Jesus encouraging us all to “become again as
a child”, I really wondered about his sanity … I mean, I’ve worked with thousands
and thousands of children over the years, and if there is one thing that is almost
certain it is that most of the time children exude some pretty self-centered views
on Love. For example:
“My mother says to look for a man who is kind. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll find somebody
who’s kinda tall and handsome.” ~ Carolyn, age 8
“How do you get a boyfriend? I shake my hips and hope for the best.” ~ Camille, age 9
“How do you get a girlfriend? I guess one way is to take the girl out to eat. Make sure
it’s something she likes … French-fries usually work for me.” ~ Bart, age 9
“Love will find you, even if you are trying to hide from it. I have been trying to hide from
it since I was five, but the girls keep finding me.” ~ Bobby, age 8
Come to think of it, lots of adults I know are still advocating very similar
beliefs — trying to find the Love “they deserve”, trying to find a partner who will
“love them as they are”, even hiding from Love so they won’t get hurt again.
They still worry far more about the Love they can get than they wonder about the
Love they could be giving.
Of course, a little research will unveil that Jesus actually encouraged us to
become as infants, not mere children, which makes a lot more sense. You see,
infants know about LOVE … They see the world as continuously Wonder-full, they
Forgive their trespassers on a dime, and they fully LOVE others “all-IN” — all three
traits that I highly recommend adopting if you are interested in living a life of deepseated
Joy & Peace & Meaning.
That having been said, just as some of us adults “get it” when it comes to
Caring for others without condition, so do a few of the children in our midst…
With that in mind, feel free to allow the deeper meanings of the following
statements to inspire you to go forth and LOVE all-IN today as well:
“Don’t say you Love somebody and then change your mind.
Love isn’t like picking what movie you want to watch.”
~ Natalie, age 9
38

“Love is when you go out to eat
and give somebody most of your French fries
without making them give you any of theirs.”
~ Chrissie, age 6
“Love is when your puppy licks your face
even after you left him alone all day.”
~ Mary Ann, age 4
“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas
when you stop opening presents and listen.”
~ Bobby, age 7
“If you want to learn to Love better,
you should start with a friend who you hate.”
~ Nikka, age 6
“Love is foolish …
but I still try it sometimes.”
~ Floyd, age 9
39

Letting the Fortress fall …
(06/15/2012)
“The fortress that I’ve painstakingly constructed all these years
is fundamentally ruptured … Love is beaming through the cracks.
And my Love for everything around me is beaming right back.” ~ Heather Peroni
We’ve been building fortresses against pain & disappointment all our lives.
We’ve been surrounding ourselves with material comforts & superficial pleasures
& “our kind of people” in order to keep ourselves safe from harm …
And yet the very castles that we have built to protect us from pain are the
very walls that are keeping us from knowing real Joy … The very stones we have
used to keep out enemies at bay are the very boulders that are keeping us from
knowing real Companionship.
It takes a lot of guts to tear those walls down … and yet until we do we’ll
never really know anything about the glorious Life that awaits us on the other side.
40

We haven’t been put here to “get rich” or “be successful” or even “find
happiness” … Instead, we’ve all been give the opportunity to do something
courageous with our time. We’ve all been given the chance to make this ride a
truly Meaning-full one.
And it all starts when we have the guts to open up and “step outside” — to
give to friends in times of lack; to greet strangers as friends; to offer the cruel &
the greedy a sorely needed blast of Kindness.
LOVE is taking apart your fortress by building a bridge to others …
So … got LOVE?
“Without courage,
Love is but a whisper on the wind.”
~ anonymous
“Courage is the willingness to be afraid
and yet act anyway.” ~ Robert Anthony
“I wanna make a jigsaw puzzle that’s got 40,000 pieces.
And when you finish it, it says ‘go outside.’” ~ Dimitry Martin
41

The Power in Grief …
(06/18/2012)
“Grief can destroy you, and grief can magnify you. You can decide a
relationship was all for nothing if it had to end in death, OR you can realize that
every moment of it had more meaning than you dared to recognize at the time; so
much meaning it scared you — scared you so much that you just went through the
motions of Caring; that you just took for granted the love and laughter you shared
together; that you just didn’t allow yourself to consider the sacredness of your
Connection with the departed.
And yet, when your friend or lover or partner or family member does die —
when it’s over & done and you’re alone without them, you can also begin to see
that it wasn’t just talking together or watching sunsets together or washing dishes
together or playing games together or taking walks together; that it wasn’t just
celebrating life’s successes together or being concerned together over life’s tough
times … No — if you pause long enough to step back from your sadness, you will
see that it was everything; that your Connection with them was the very why of
life; every event and every precious moment of it.
And when you do so, you realize in that moment that the answer to the very
mystery of your existence is the Love you shared with such folks (though
sometimes imperfectly) … And when you allow your loss to awaken you to the
deeper Beauty of it all — to the sanctity of Life and the Joy of Living – you can’t
help but let out a deep sigh; you can’t help but allow a huge smile to spread across
your face as a most amazing wave of Peace wells up from within you … and you
are driven to your knees, not by the weight of your loss, but by a deep & gentle
Gratitude for all the times that preceded it …
… and then become
inspired to stand up and go
forth to honor that greatest of
Gifts -- by renewing &
cherishing the relationships
you still have left.”
(inspired by Dean Koontz)
42

Roses & Thorns …
(07/14/2012)
Some folks complain that roses have thorns;
others are thankful that life’s thorns have roses …
I, in the other Heart, follow the “narrow path”;
I SEE the two as one …
I see the prick of the roses’ thorns giving their petals a deeper
magnificence; and the courage of that embrace carries me past the pain.
LOVE always remembers, regardless of challenge or happenstance, that life
is allWays Good …
… and LOVE remembers to act accordingly.
So … got LOVE?
(inspired by Alphonse Karr)
43

Life before death …
(07/15/2012)
The important question is not whether life exists after death.
The only consideration of any real consequence …
… is whether you choose to truly LIVE before you die.
(inspired by Osho)
44

Kindness is a verb …
(07/16/2012)
“Philosophy consists very largely of one philosopher arguing that all other
philosophers are jackasses. He usually proves his case, of course … and thereby
proves that he is a jackass himself.” ~ H. L. Mencken
An objective “Meaning of Life” is about as ever-nebulous a concept as it
gets. It is something that simply cannot be found, no matter how hard we search
or strive. And yet – if we are willing to let fear go and get up and DO something
for another – great Meaning in living is there for us all.
“What counts most in each of our lives is the difference we made in the
lives of others.” – Bert Schouten
As such, it is high time we quit wondering about what is “right”, it is high
time we ceased searching for what is “true”, and it is high time we stopped
debating & discussing the “best way” to solve our society’s challenges.
It’s not rocket science, folks.
Kindness is the answer …
… and Kindness is a verb.
“The first step towards getting somewhere, is to decide you’re not staying
where [or how] you already are.” ~ Hayley Darby
45

Reaching the Top …
(07/17/2012)
“Ever since Happiness heard your name,
it has been running through the streets
trying to find you.” ~ Hafiz
We’ve been told that Salvation comes after we die …
We’ve been told that Enlightenment requires disciplined time & effort …
We’ve been told that Awakening is a slow and steady process.
We’ve been told that finding “true Happiness” is a long staircase that we
must climb one step at a time; only someday reaching “the top”; only someday
coming to know a real and lasting Contentment.
We meditate and we go to church and we donate to charities and we spend
“quality time” with our friends and we do yoga — and we end up only marginally
happier than we were before we started. All the “self help” gurus and New Age
pundits tell us that this is “just the way it is” — that we can attain “the next step”
if we but stay the course and persevere; that we can one day “become enlightened”
if we do after buying their next book or attending their latest seminar …
And we heed their advice and believe that we are making progress. And
yet when we do so we aren’t really climbing life’s staircase at all — all we are
really doing is marking time on a step upon which we had already long-since
arrived.
Well, as depressing as this all sounds, I’ve got some very Good News for
you; namely this: Everything you’ve been told by these “spiritual leaders” about
progress and Grace and faith and persistence simply isn’t the whole Truth …
In essence, my Friends –
… YOUR LIFE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!
Yes, life is a staircase of sorts — It is indeed true that we will grow and
“progress” and learn over time. And it is also true that every single step on that
staircase is perfectly Beauty-full; that every single step on that staircase has its
own portal to Heaven; that Salvation & its ensuing sense of “Enlightenment” are
here for every one of us — right here & right now — right where you already are
in this very moment; right on the step upon which you already stand.
46

Indeed (in-deed!), the true Awakening of our True Self comes upon us
every time we willfully sacrifice our own desires to satisfy the yearnings of
another; every time we set aside our own fears to soothe the angst of another;
every time we are exhausted or ill or injured, and yet choose to reach out and carry
another’s burden anyway.
For it is these actions and those like them that allow us to realize that, while
Heaven might very well wait for us “on the other side” after we die; and while we
might very well “become enlightened” someday, the Heaven of the Soul IS
ALREADY UNDER OUR FEET!
Indeed, we -- each & every one of us -- are all already fully Enlightened
“angels” already walking its Ways … And to fully awaken to this Truth – and to
feel the unbridled Bliss that accompanies such an awakening -- all we have to do
is act accordingly.
“Peace is not something you wish for; It’s something you make, something
you do, something you are, and something you give away.” ~ Robert Fulghum.
47

Just EAT it …
(07/19/2012)
To the ego, going “out of your way” to Care for another looks
unpleasantly inedible (if not even downright disgusting), and yet this “entree”
is not only super-nutritious for the Soul; it is actually quite tasty as well …
So bon appetite, my Friends … Eat UP!
48

Alive is more than enough …
(07/19/2012)
“I would rather be a flower which blooms in full glory and then dies,
than be a shrub that lives for centuries yet never blossoms …
I would rather be a spark that blazes brilliantly for but a moment, than
be a glimmering bulb that pulses for years, yet is too dim to illuminate the
Way of Love …
I would rather be a sparkling meteor which shines its radiant Beauty
but for an instant, than be a cold & sleepy planet …
I am born to LIVE … not merely to exist. I shall therefore not waste
my days in trying to prolong them … I shall use my time …
… I shall LOVE.”
(inspired by Tayyiba Iram)
49

Our one River …
(07/20/2012)
“Buddha claimed no copyright on his teachings … Shakespeare received no
royalty checks. We have been enchanted by music, paintings, architecture and
crafts of many cultures, from time immemorial. We have received a treasure
house of traditions as a free gift. In response, we offer our work as well -- our
creativity, our arts and our crafts as gifts to generations present and future.
In such times, when we are motivated by such a selfless spirit, then our
work is never a burden … It is not a duty … It is not a responsibility. In such
times, we are not even the doers of our work … Work flows through us and not
from us. In such times, we do not own our intellect, our creativity, or our skills …
We have received them as a gift -- and we pass them on as a gift.
It is like a river that keeps
on flowing. All its tributaries
together are what make the river
great, and we are one of those
tributaries -- adding to the Great
River of our particular time and
culture; adding to the Great
River of Humanity.
If tributaries stop flowing
into the river, if they become
individualistic and egotistical, if
they put terms and conditions on
their entry before they join the
river, then they will dry up -- and
the river will dry up as well.
To keep the river flowing,
its tributaries must come together
willingly — with Joy, and
without condition.”
(~ inspired by Satish Kumar)
50

Seeing one World …
(07/22/2012)
Seeing past others’ behaviors to their innate Goodness within allows Joy to
flow up from within you as well …
Instead of letting external circumstances entrench your fears by labeling
others as “strangers” or “villains”, remember instead the greatest of Truths:
… that we are ALL members of the same Family.
The natural result of adopting such “water logic” is the Peace that comes
from the Compassion; from the Forgiveness; from the acts of Tenderness that
naturally follow.
(inspired by Lao Tsu)
51

We are Starshine …
(07/22/2012)
“Her eyes were of different colors, the left as brown as autumn, the right as
blue-gray as the wind. Both seemed alive with questions … By her own account
she spoke with Angels and could hear the thoughts of the animals and the trees.
She was passionately kind to all living things. She was a beam of starlight trapped
in flesh; patiently awaiting the moment when it could continue on its journey into
forever.” ~ Tim Willocks
Each one of us is a similar sliver of starshine riding around in a fleshly
machine we call “the body”. And yet for each of us there is no need to patiently
wait for that machine to release us … Indeed, we each set forth into eternity every
time we reach out to Love the unlovable; every time we give to those deemed
undeserving; every time we gently bless those who have harmed us or others;
every time we set aside our criticisms & complainings in order to See the world as
the innately glorious wonderland it always is.
Though our own eyes might not be of different colors, they do see two very
different realities …
52

The “brown eye” within us sees the troubles of the world and complains
about them; sees life’s perpetrators and yearns to inflict them with “justice” … It
sees everyday things as “boring”, unattractive things as “ugly”, and inappropriate
things as “bad”.
Our “blue-gray eye”, however, sees the same Reality very differently …
For this eye, the world’s troubles become opportunities to Care; our enemies,
priceless chances to Forgive … With this vision, nothing is “boring” or “ugly” or
“bad” — everything we see is Seen for the first time; everything we see is new and
amazing and full of promise & Beauty.
In every moment of our precious lives we each have a choice as to how we
will See the Life we have been given … And how we choose to See that moment
will determine what we then choose to Do (or not Do) with it.
Love sees as the wind; ever-flowing & ever-giving & ever-amazed.
So … got Love?
“At any moment, you have a choice
that either leads you closer to your Spirit –
… or further away from it.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
(P.S. Our ability to See is almost as important as our ability to choose.
It’s an amazing world out there, my Friends. Please choose to SEE it …
… and then please choose to act accordingly.)
53

LOVE is all we need …
(07/23/2012)
Actually, if your Love is a verb, then Love is all you need.
(Remember: It is LOVE that truly Appreciates, LOVE that truly Does, LOVE that
truly Accepts, LOVE that truly Listens, LOVE that truly Smiles and LOVE that truly
Feels … As such, there is no real happiness without real LOVE.)
54

The Gate to Heaven; the Gate to Hell …
(07/24/2012)
A warrior came one day to Hakuin, a Zen Master. The warrior was a
samurai, a proud soldier of no small reknown, and he asked Hakuin, “Is there any
Hell and is there any Heaven — and if there are, where are their gates? How can I
avoid Hell and enter Heaven instead?”
Now a warrior typically knows of only two things -- life and death. His life
is always at stake; and he is always in some way gambling against death or
preparing to do the same. And this warrior was of the same mold – he had not
come to Hakuin to learn any complex spiritual doctrine. He simply wanted to
know where the gates were so he could avoid Hell and enter Heaven … And
because Hakuin was aware of this, he replied in a way that any warrior could
understand … He said, “Who are you?”
Now it was a thing of much pride to be a samurai in Japan. It meant being a
perfect warrior, a man who would not hesitate a single instant to give his life for
the cause. So the warrior replied, “I am a samurai; indeed, I am a leader of
samurais. Even the emperor pays respect to me.” … And yet instead of responding
with the appropriate expressions of reverence, Hakuin actually laughed gently and
said, ” You, a samurai? In this moment you more resemble a beggar.” … Upon
hearing this, the samurai’s pride was severely wounded and he temporarily forgot
what he had come for. Instead, he instinctively unsheathed his sword and moved
in to kill Hakuin.
And yet in this moment Hakuin laughed once again and said, “You have
found the gate to Hell … With your sword, with your anger, with your ego; here
opens the gate to your own damnation.”
This was language that the
warrior could understand. He paused
… He listened … He heard … He
understood … And then he bowed and
put his sword back into its sheath.
“And now”, said Hakuin, “You
have also discovered the gate to Heaven.”
(~ inspired by an unknown source)
55

Peace has priorities …
(07/26/2012)
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired,
signifies a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, from those who are cold
and are not clothed.” ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
We cannot remove the evil from others’ hearts while choosing to see them
as “flawed” or “evil” … Jesus himself said it best when he reminded us to remove
the beam from our own eyes before we fight to remove the splinter from another’s
… That “beam” is our arrogance that judges those splinters to be “evil”; it is the
hubris that would have us correct others and thereby neglect our own atonements.
Indeed, the only way to remove the “splinter” of evil from others is to
remember that the same are not innate character flaws — but rather are fearful
responses to deep-seated wounds. After all, we do not attack a cancer victim and
attempt to correct them. We recognize their illness and exude them gentle
Compassion.
This is the only way to effectuate lasting Peace with the spiritually &/or
psychologically “ill” folks that our egos would incorrectly judge to be “evil” …
Please consider this wisdom gently …
… and then please go forth and act accordingly.
56

No small acts of LOVE …
(07/30/2012)
And once you’ve risen above the gloom of regret & parted worry’s
fearful fog, you will remember that it is LOVE that matters, and only Love
… and you will remember that the LOVE that matters is the Love that is a
verb … and you will remember that the most powerful LOVE might only
give “a little”,
… but it gives that “little”, a lot.
“Raining down a deluge of food & drink,
may I dispel the wants of thirst and famine.
And in all ages marked by scarcity and want,
May I appear to others as sustenance.”
~ The Way of the Bodhisattva
57

Befriending Dragons …
(07/26/2012)
“We know all too well that we have a God who shows mercy on evil-doers,
for if He didn’t, we’d all be in very big trouble.” ~ Shane Claiborne
It is important for us all to remember that all evil comes from malice,
… malice, which is nothing more than crystallized hatred,
… hatred, which is nothing more than crystallized anger,
… anger, which is nothing more than crystallized fear,
… fear, which is nothing more than crystallized greed,
… & greed, which is nothing more than crystallized selfishness.
Simply put, what this means is that every time you choose to be selfish
yourself, you are actively supporting “evil” … For example, every time you look
away from a homeless beggar because you feel uncomfortable or afraid, you are
supporting “evil”,
… and every time you rationalize “taking care of yourself first” so that you
might someday thereafter care for someone else, you are supporting “evil”,
… and every time you gossip about another person behind their back or
criticize them to their face, you are supporting “evil”,
… and every time you watch a crime show on TV or an action film in the
theater and celebrate the death of one of the “bad guys”, you are supporting “evil”.
“To lose your Soul doesn’t mean you someday die to go to Hell. Whenever
we don’t enliven who we truly are, we are already in Hell; seeking fulfillment in
the wrong places and finding it in the wrong ways.” ~ Dalton Roberts
This is kind of a shocker, I know, and yet please remember that — even
though we have all done one or more (or all) of these things in our recent lives —
this doesn’t mean that we are “lost” or “primitive” or “bad” or even “evil”
ourselves … It simply means that we all still have some “Waking UP” to do. It
simply means that we all have certain situations in our lives where we continue
respond with cowardly fear instead of courageous Kindness.
Some would say that this is simply the way of things; that we are all “only
human”. I would offer a different Truth: namely, that even though we will indeed
be forever tempted to respond with callousness over intimacy & selfishness over
generosity & fear over Love, we are not now – nor will we ever be -- “only
human” … For the Truth of the matter is — WE ARE HUMAN(e)!!!
58

That’s right … Every person out there who can read these words has a
functional neo-cortex inside their head, and if your neo-cortex is functioning, then
the power of choice is still available to you.
This life does not require you to behave like an animal when things get
rough … You are not required to “unleash the inner dragon” whenever you are
tired or hurting or afraid. In fact, you are much, much, much more than your
primal, selfish, judgmental, instinct-driven ego would have you believe.
Indeed, you have received a priceless Gift — a Gift that arrived at your
conception — a Gift that remains yours even if you have never opened its package
before now — a Gift that will remain within you for the rest of your days … This
Gift is THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE; specifically, the ability to choose how you
respond to fear.
Now, I will freely admit that giving radical, selfless, unconditional LOVE
to strangers and enemies (and dragons) alike is quite difficult. To this I can
personally attest … And yet this option is always available to you, and in those
moments when you do choose to follow its path, it is a choice that will indeed
allWays brings great Peace.
“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are really princesses waiting to see
us act, just once, with some beauty and some courage. Perhaps everything that
frightens us is, in its deepest essence, simply something that is itself afraid —
something helpless that wants our Love.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke
59

Becoming Awesome …
(07/29/2012)
“What is not sought in the right way,
will not be found.” ~ I Ching
If you are looking for your True Self — the part of you that is Peace-full &
Loving & Kind, you won’t find it by surrounding yourself with “good people” or
“taking care of yourself” … You will only find your True Self when you start
acting accordingly — when you start being Peace-full & Loving & Kind.
And once you do so, that is when you start being who You truly Are —
who you actually always have been …
… That is when you start being truly AWESOME.
60

What are you waiting for? …
(07/29/2012)
“The only way to get where you want to be, is to choose to really BE where
you already are … Great Joy comes from nowhere (now here).” ~ Nanja Naisah
Before we can re-member who we truly Are (and actually, who we have
always been), we must first have the Courage to let go of who we were …
… to then be able to get out there and radically BE again.
We’ve got to BE the Love …
We’ve got to BE the Forgiveness …
We’ve got to BE the Compassion …
We’ve got to BE the Amazement …
We’ve got to BE the Joy.
Your YOU is waiting for you, my Friends …
… So what are you waiting for?
61

Love never ends …
(07/31/2012)
“Though I fear her never coming to me, and fear her leaving me once she
arrives, I am not that fear. Though I yearn to be by her side and desire to see
Love for me dance in her eyes, I am not that desire. I am Love and I Love her …
She will choose what she chooses, and – whether this choice brings her near or
carries her far away, I will thank God that my Love will always join her there.” ~
anonymous
If our Love for another ends, then it never really began.
Relationships come, and relationships go … That is the way of things. And
yet, no matter what happens in our relationships, when LOVE arrives, it never
leaves …
… That is The Way.
“While the music lasts,
you are the music.”
~ inspired by T. S. Eliot
62

Clarifying Clarity …
(07/31/2012)
“In the 20th century Albert Einstein predicted that humans would require a
new manner of thinking in order to survive as a species. When I read the same, I
thought something else … I thought that humanity will require a renewed
commitment to gaining Clarity if we are to thrive … After all, despite what the
‘powers that be’ show us on television, our extinction not a foregone conclusion.
If we can gain some Clarity — and then ACT on it— we really can turn this thing
around.
So what is Clarity — What is it on our lives that needs to be clarified?
Clarity is freedom from obscurity … It is Light … It is truth — not an
objective “universal truth”, but rather your own personal authentic Truth; the
Truth that reveals itself to you when you willingly question (and then dispel) any
darkness or shadow that has been shrouding any part of your life – anything that
has been inspiring your disappointments or bringing out the personal weaknesses
you often project onto others.
Each time you clarify such a “darker” part of your life, you come closer to
your authentic Self and the bright Bliss that resides therein.
And the Good News is this: this kind of pure Clarity is just as close to you
as your current lack of clarity is. Both are equally available right now in this very
moment … If you want greater Clarity (and the Peace that comes with it), you are
simply going to have the Courage to set your old judgments and criticisms and
blames aside --- and choose Love instead.
Enlightenment does not
come from the mind; it comes
when you confront the fearful
side of your nature …
… and bring it into the
Light of Love.”
(~ inspired by Maureen Moss)
63

Waking Up to Living …
(08/03/2012)
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you
come alive — and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people
who are alive.” ~ Howard Thurman
He saw her sadness, looked away, and walked past …
He stopped, turned back to her, and offered to help.
She looked down, embarrassed — possibly humiliated, and refused.
As she stood there, with her bedraggled clothes, bare feet and tear-stained
cheeks, he was at a loss. What could he do when she had turned him down
already? What could he give that would that would not make her feel further
ashamed? Maybe he should just move on … And he started to walk away again
— but he did not.
He turned to her once more, took off his shoes, and placed them at her feet
… Then he gently touched her shoulder and, when she raised her eyes to his, he
told her that she was Loved.
64

This actually happened … And things just like this are continue to happen
every day all over the world … And this, or something like it, is what you can
actually do as well — today … This — and only this, is what will bring You back
to Life; what will allow you to return fully to the Land of the Living.
So, my Friends, choose to Joy-fully walk through the doorways of Caring
that open before you today … They are everywhere in every moment. Every hour,
choose to pause at least once to really look around — not to see where you are
going or to remember all the “important things” you have to do, but rather to really
See – to See where you can be Kind; to notice the ways you can lessen another’s
burdens or to recognize the ways in which you can add to their Joy.
And when you do so — when you see those brilliant chances, avoid looking
away, choose to ACT instead … Choose to give that other just one moment of
Happiness — just one instant when they can remember that someone else Cares.
This is what it means to be truly truly Human …
This is what it means to be truly ALIVE .
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even
touched. They must be felt [and then given] with the Heart.” ~ Helen Keller
65

The tastiness of LOVE …
(08/04/2012)
A RECIPE FOR AWAKENING YOUR TRUE SELF
*Start with who you truly ARE …
“Studies of our biological constitution make it increasingly clear that we are
social creatures of meaning, who crave a sense of coherence and purpose.” ~ Cal
Tech neuroscientist Steven Quartz
*Add a dose self-responsibility & heat with Love …
“You’re not going to find the meaning of life hidden under a rock written by
someone else. You’ll only find it by giving meaning to life from inside yourself.” ~
Robert Firestone
*Stir gently with acts of selfless service …
“I understand how a man who has nothing left in the world still may know bliss,
be it only for a moment: in the service of [another]… Happiness cannot be
pursued; it must ensue.” ~ Victor Frankl
*EnJoy this Enlightenment regularly for the rest of your life …
“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not
have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’” ~
Erma Bombeck
66

Dear God …
(08/05/2012)
“If you want your prayers to be powerful, then you’ve got to pray in
harmony with God’s gentle will … and you’ve got to pray with moving feet.” ~
anonymous
Dear God, I sometimes feel deep sorrow and mourn … In such moments,
please inspire me to be thankful for my glorious life.
Dear God, I sometimes desire to gather riches or protect myself from harm
… In such moments, please inspire me to open my hands and open my Heart.
Dear God, I sometimes am afraid and tremble over the future … In such
moments, please inspire me to stride boldly forth into the Now as a shining beacon
of your unconditional Love.
Amen … Let it be so.
“The questions that I came with
I have found no answers for.
And yet, along the Way, I am finding answers
to questions I never knew I had.”
~ Mayela Redando
“Love is this
sacred pool.
Take off your
shoes, my Friend …
… and wade in.”
~ Rumi
67

Celebrating Life …
(08/06/2012)
Note: the most powerful way to Celebrate your life,
… is to make another’s life your own celebration.
LOVE turns selfless service into a party …
So … got LOVE?
68

Brightening the Darkness …
(08/07/2012)
If we go into a darkened room, we cannot see where we are walking, and it
doesn’t matter if the room has been dark for a day, for a week or for ten thousand
years – we are just as blind.
And yet, if we light but one candle, we are no longer lost … If we light but
one candle, we can see again … That one tiny flame is enough to make the
darkness flee.
And this is the way of things with light and darkness …
And this is the way of things for each of us as well.
It doesn’t matter how long we may have been stuck in fear. It doesn’t
matter how long we have clung to a belief in our supposed limitations. Once we
engage our capacity for Love; once we have the courage to reach out into the
gloom to comfort another; once we remember that this is why we are here -- our
Soul’s Light shines forth once again.
It beams out brilliantly and warms the shadows around us …
It illuminates our Way once more.
(~ inspired by Sharon Salzberg)
69

Persistence is The Way …
(08/06/2012)
“We either make ourselves miserable,
or we make ourselves strong.
The amount of work is the same.”
~ Carlos Castaneda
It is true that we are to avoid “pushing the river” … Namely, when our
efforts to do a certain thing in a certain way (or be with a certain person in a certain
way, or create a certain life in a certain way) cause us repeated experiences of pain
and frustration, it is indeed wise to let them go and do something else (with
someone else and with a different intention) …
And when God’s Will (or “the flow of the Universe”, for all you New Agers —
or “dramatic happenstance”, for all you secular humanists) repeatedly conflicts with
your personal goals, it is indeed a very good idea to change the latter and align
your intentions with what IS -- as opposed to what you think “should be”.
That having been said, we humans – especially when the going gets tough –
have an uncanny knack for quitting far too soon:
*We “Love an enemy” once, and then shun them anew when they don’t
respond with immediate Kindness.
*We forgive one who has wronged us, but then turn away from them when
they choose not to accept that forgiveness.
*We make ourselves vulnerable to another, only to close our Hearts the
very next time we are hurt.
That is not how real LOVE works, my Friends … For any real change to
come — both to us as well as for others nearby, we must PERSIST in our Loving.
After all, Big Change just doesn’t happen right away. Indeed, it is impossible to
erase decades (if not eons) of fear with a few moments of bravery …
And yet if we have the courage to calmly continue to swim in that river —
even if the going is slow, we will get to Peace …
… We will become agents of Change.
70

Yes, I know, the water is freezing at first, and you will probably not be able
to see the bottom. You might even struggle against the current and feel like you
are going to drown …
AND YET, if you keep simply putting one arm in front of the other — if
you remain calm and simply keep on Loving, you will find that you can actually
swim quite well, even through these rougher waters … You will find that, at least
for those who have the guts to truly LOVE, things really do turn out OK.
So come on in, folks, the water really is fine.
“I am not what happens to me;
I am what I choose to become.”
~ Carl Jung
71

Reaping to sow …
(08/07/2012)
“Whatever God’s dream of man may be,
it cannot come true unless man cooperates.” ~ Stella Mann
Traditionally witnessed, the scene pictured below would have us think that
the woman has encountered wealth; that she, like the rest of us, has awoken to the
Truth that she is surrounded with an abundance of riches.
Fair enough … Such abundance does indeed fill all our days. Some of us
might live in circumstances where it is a bit more difficult to see than others, and
yet wealth surrounds us all nonetheless. We all have more than enough blessings
in our lives to be deeply and profoundly grateful every day. That is something
worth remembering, to be sure …
And yet there is a deeper Truth being shown here as well … This woman
might also very well have tapped into real Wealth — the Wealth that knows that
the riches of sustenance and pleasure (and beauty and fun and money and influence
and friendship and comfort) become infinitely more potent when we not only collect
them, but when we then choose to use them to lighten the burdens of others.
You see, true Abundance is not sowing appreciation to God in order to reap
Peace for ourselves, nor is it sowing “friendliness” to those around us in order to
reap our own “happiness” in return …
No, my Friends -- true
Abundance is nothing more than
reaping your own life’s Joys &
Wonders …
… in order to sow them
back into the garden of another.
“If you don’t see God
in the next person you meet,
there’s no use looking any
further.” ~ M. Gandhi
72

LOVE over fear …
(09/03/2012)
Your friends are more Important than your fear,
… your associates are more Important than your fear, &
… your enemies are more Important than your fear.
And, in those moments when you act accordingly,
… YOU become more Important than your fear as well!
73

Today is the Day …
(08/08/2012)
“I used to be indecisive;
… Now I’m not so sure.”
~ W. C. Fields
Sometimes we get to choose to rise up out our of our sloth to serve others;
to rise up out of our daily humdrum routine to do something wonderful; to rise up
and take the hand that is putting food into our own mouth and use it instead to
reach out to those in greater need … Actually, we are free to make this choice in
every moment of our lives – to Care for others whenever we wish.
And yet, as we begin to awaken to a few oft-forgotten facts, we will slowly
come to realize that these two options (take care of ourselves vs. actively Care for
others) actually meld into one …
*One day, we will wake up to the fact that our societies are patently unjust
and that our politicians will NOT ever work to solve our lives’ biggest challenges.
*One day, we will wake up to the fact that we are collectively damaging
our Earth to the point that She will soon respond in cataclysmic fashion — and
that our ” world leaders” are actually personally invested in seeing such a tragedy
take place.
*One day, we will wake up to the fact that punishing criminals and killing
off enemies is completely counterproductive, and yet that “those in charge” see
this evil option as the only way — a way that actually encourages “criminals” to
continue to steal and that ensures that “enemies” will to continue to hate.
*One day, we will wake up to the fact that, unless we start actively Caring
for each other, our species quite simply will not survive.
Well, good morning, my Friends — for today is that day!
After many centuries of ignorance & neglect , we have finally come to the
precipice of our demise; we have finally arrived at our point of no return, the point
when we get to finally accept the fact that we only have one choice left: either we
can transcend our selfishness & our cowardice …
… or we will indeed perish.
74

As a species, we’ve been collectively “parked” in apathy and hollow
excuses long enough — far too long, actually. And yet all hope is not lost …
*Even without the help of our governments, WE CAN feed the hungry and
house the homeless … Even without the support of our “leaders”, WE CAN clean
up our neighborhoods, consume half of what we currently “need”, and recycle the
rest … And even without the law telling us to do so, WE CAN forgive those who
trespass against us — and we can do so with acts of Kindness more than mumbled
words.
It’s not too late, my Friends … We still have the power to change things, and
change them powerfully. We still have the ability to choose -- It’s just that
courageously Caring for others nearby is simply the only Good Choice that remains.
LOVE chooses to Care, and LOVE knows that our Caring has to be
radically active & purely selfless in order to BE.
So … got LOVE?
“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare;
it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” ~ Seneca
“The only true Happiness comes
from squandering ourselves for a purpose.” ~ William Cowper
“It is only when we truly understand that we have a limited time on earth, and that we
have no way of knowing when our time is up,
that we will begin to live each day to the fullest,
as if it was the only one we had.” ~ Elizabeth Kuebler-Ross
75

Why we yell in anger …
(08/10/2012)
There was once a gentle Saint who was visiting the river Ganges to bathe.
He waded out a ways and then joyfully submerged himself, feeling deep gratitude
and completely at Peace …
And as he then rose from the cool waters, he noticed a group of family
members on the banks nearby, shouting at each other. He was initially saddened
by their plight, and yet his frown soon turned to a calm smile, and he turned to his
friends who had come with him that day and asked, “I wonder, why is it that
people shout at each other in anger?”
His friends pondered this for a while in silence, until one of them said, “It is
when we lose our inner calm that we shout.’” The Saint smiled again and
responded, “But then why do they shout when the other is right there next to
them?” The friends thought about this earnestly, and several looked as though
they wanted to respond — yet and none of them offered an answer.
After a time, the Saint spoke softly and said, “When two people are angry
at each other, their hearts become greatly distanced, and to bridge that separation
they must shout to make themselves heard. The angrier they are, the greater the
gulf between them grows, and the louder they must shout for their hearts to hear
each other.” The friends listened to this intently and then sat awhile in silence,
and considered it.
And then after a time, the Saint continued: “What happens when two
people Love one another? They don’t shout at each other at all, but rather speak
softly. They do so because their hearts are very close. The distance between them
is very small … And when they Love each other even more, they do not need to
speak at all, the distance between their hearts is almost nonexistent, and they only
need to whisper as their Souls get closer & closer in Love … Finally, they move
so close to each other that they don’t even need to whisper — they simply look at
each other with appreciation, and then into each other with Love … In these
moments, they have become One. They hear each other perfectly, and they feel
that they are respected and heard — so there is no more need to shout.”
He looked from his friends to the angry family, and back again, and then he
said, “So, my dear ones, when you disagree with another, avoid letting your hearts
grow distant. Remain calm and utter words that are soft and Kind. Only this will
keep the distance between you close enough that the other can one day find the
Way back Home.” (~ inspired by anonymous)
76

“Anger is an acid that does more harm to the vessel in which it is
stored than to anything on which it is poured.” ~ Mark Twain
“Defeat anger, stop using it as a shield against truth, and you will
find the compassion you need to forgive.” ~ Glen Beck
“Compassion crowns the soul with its truest victory.” ~ Aberjhani
“Learn to love someone when they least deserve it, because that is
when they need Love most.” ~ Rodolfo Costa
77

To Awaken …
(09/06/2012)
“Your vision will become clear only when you decide to look
with your Heart. Who looks with the eyes, dreams … Who looks
with Love, awakens.” ~ inspired by Carl Jung
… and to Look with Love, LOVE.
78

The softness of Self …
(09/13/2012)
You are your True Self within –
… a Self that understands that gentleness is your greatest Strength;
… a Self that comprehends that Kindness is your greatest protection;
… a Self that realizes that softness is your greatest Power.
“A man once told the Buddha, ‘I want Happiness’.
The Buddha said, ‘First remove your ‘I’,
and then remove your ‘want’ …
All that’s left will be Happiness.” ~ unknown
“Love finds a way,
through paths
where wolves fear to prey.”
~ Lord Byron
“Before a man can become free,
he must choose freedom.”
~ Jeff Knaebel
79

Master & Disciple …
(09/17/2012)
“The master moves towards the disciple, and the disciple moves towards
the master. Sooner or later they are going to meet … It is inevitable. And yet their
meeting is not of the body; and their meeting is not of the mind. Their meeting is
of the very Soul, as if suddenly you were to bring two lamps close to each other,
where the lamps remain separate but their flames meld and become one.
Between two bodies, when the Soul is one, it is very difficult to say that it
is a mere relationship. It is not, and yet there is no other word that comes close
enough … Language is simply too weak to describe it. The closest we can come
is when we say that, when those two finally come together — they both know the
other as the Self … They each primarily feel for the other; and in this way they
literally become ONE.”
(~ inspired by Prem Sagar Gupta)
80

Living on Holy Ground …
(09/20/2012)
“To touch the Soul of another
is to walk gently on holy ground.” ~ Steven Covey
… and please remember: Kindness is the only hand
that can truly make such a Connection.
81

LOVE is a River …
(09/21/2012)
“The river is everywhere at the same time, at its source and at its mouth …
in the ocean and in the mountains. It is everywhere, and only the present exists for
it — not even a shadow of its past, nor a shadow of its future.”
~ inspired by Herman Hesse
The same is True for your Soul,
… the same is True for your True Self,
… & the same is True for your LOVE.
No matter the time or the season; no matter the object of your Kindness be
friend or foe … You only have this moment to wake UP to who you truly are.
You only have this moment to truly Care.
82

Making The Leap …
(09/26/2012)
“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your Heart … Seek
to make your life long in its purpose in the service of your people. In this way, you
prepare a noble death song for the day when you pass over the Great Divide.”
~ Chief Tecumseh
“The tragedy of life is not death, but rather what we let die inside of us
while we are still alive.” ~ Norman Cousins
“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the
trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked — there is no
reason not to follow your Heart.” ~ Steve Jobs
The only way to fly on Love’s
wings is to make the first (and
ultimately only) Leap of Faith:
namely, to be Kind when you are
least inclined.
Set your FEAR gently yet
firmly aside, my Friends …
… & JUMP into LOVE!
83

Becoming un-Lost …
(09/27/2012)
“I think that many people become depressed because they feel stuck; their
lives have become static, where no progress is being made in any direction;
usually because the path they desire the most is the one most unavailable to them.
And even though the way they want to walk is closed, they are unable to accept
that they can – and indeed they must -- choose another path. And the truth is,
there is always another path — there is always an alternative way resting right
beneath our feet. So stop worrying, and just get up and do something you CAN
do, rather than grieving uselessly for what you can’t.” ~ anonymous
One is Wise who does not force what “should be” upon what actually IS …
If we keep focusing on where we want to go — where we think we will get
the most happiness or pleasure, then we will always eventually reach a dead end
(literally) — and we will end up getting nowhere at all.
And yet, in every moment of our lives — right at the center of every one of
our difficulties and right at the core of every one of our conundrums, there is an
alternative route; a route that is always open; a route that always leads to Peace.
It is Kindness shown to others
that is always this option …
It is Kindness shown to others
that always opens its arms …
It is Kindness shown to others
that is the way to Peace …
It is Kindness shown to others
that is The Way.
84

True Power …
(10/07/2012)
"I cannot say that I know how to be perfectly & constantly happy, and
yet I HAVE indeed known how it feels to receive true & lasting spiritual
Power, at least to the extent that I have willingly & joyfully lost myself in
selfless service ... Indeed, for any human being to experience real & potent
Power there is no substitute for a repetitive review of our motives -- there is
no alternative to making absolutely certain that we desire that very Power
solely to bring Peace to others after receiving it."
~ inspired by Dalton Roberts
85

Awakening to LOVE …
(10/19/2012)
“Let your Love be like a moving sea between the shore of all Souls …
Let the winds of Heaven dance between you and every stranger … Wake up
at each dawn with a winged Heart and give thanks for another day of Love.
Give your hearts, and yet not into another’s keeping, for only the hand of the
Divine can fully contain you … And at the end of each day, fall softly into
sleep — with a prayer for the beloved in your Soul … and a song of praise
upon your lips.”
(~ inspired by Kahlil Gibran)
86

Lessons from a Pilgrim …
(10/19/2012)
“I have lived an entire life in one long walk … I chose to walk
because there was no better way to get to know myself than by completely
unplugging my life from my life. I was alone for most of the time, which
finally allowed me to see how deeply we are all Connected. We all deal with
the same basic set of challenges … We all have relationships in crisis, we all
have bodies that are steadily deteriorating, we all have finances that are as
unstable as time itself. In the depths of my solitude I finally realized that
there is no ‘me’ and there is no ‘them’ … I realized that there is only US.”
(~ inspired by Kurt Koontz)
87

Hearing the Wise Ones …
(12/02/2012)
“We give dogs time when we can spare it, space when we can spare it
and love when we can spare it. In return, dogs give us everything they’ve got
to give. It’s the best deal humankind has ever made.”
~ inspired by M. Acklam
Of course, the more we Awaken, the more we realize that it is the
dogs that are getting the better end of that deal …
… and that we are more than free to do likewise.
88

What we truly Are …
(12/03/2012)
“Love is an undulating energy that moves through you,
that resides within you; it is a force that actually forms the foundation
of your entire being … And this Love is immensely powerful. In fact, it
has the power to change everything in your life for the better —
instantly & completely.
Of course, it can only do so once you display the Courage to
allow its light to shine upon others.” ~ inspired by Bartholomew
89

Becoming truly Free …
(12/04/2012)
“True & potent Freedom is accessible to me when I make the transfer of
power from ego to Soul, when I stop to behave out of fear and cease being
attached to results. I do what my Soul tells me, even if I am afraid. I concentrate
on the means instead of the end.
There is a direct relationship between consciousness and action and
“enlightenment” and Happiness. When I listen to my ego and its unquenchable
thirst for security, I remain imprisoned, the slave of my needs, habits, desires and
beliefs. True freedom and invincibility, on the other hand, are the direct result of
my listening to the advice of my internal True Self — my Caring conscience …
and then courageously doing what it tells me to do.
This is a new, mysterious path that seems quite deadly to the ego, and yet,
most ironically, it is the only path that does not lead to a dead end. True & potent
Freedom is not something I can buy; rather, it is an internal state of Being that is
chosen … No law can guarantee it, and no body or being can remove it from me.
It is already in my possession – and in my possession it will ever remain.
All I need to do is to rediscover it …
… by actively re-Membering it.”
(~ anonymous & unknown)
90

Living like a Lion …
(12/04/2012)
“As a bee seeks nectar from all kinds of flowers,
… seek your teaching everywhere.
Like a deer that finds a quiet place to graze,
… seek seclusion to take in all that you have gathered.
And then, like a Loving Madman — beyond all limits,
go wherever you please, and boldly enliven the new Truth that resides within you.
Choose to live like a gentle lion,
… completely free from fear.”
(~ inspired by Namkhai Norbu)
91

To get Attention …
(12/05/2012)
“Don’t do things
like wear smelly, green sneakers.
You might get attention,
but attention ain’t the same thing as Love.”
~ Alonzo (age 9)
LOVE doesn’t desire attention …
... LOVE does the attending.
92

Every perfect Day …
(12/06/2012)
“Days can become rubber stamps — relentlessly pounding out the
same impressions upon our lives; the same alarm clock jarring us awake to
experience the same old outlook on the same old things … And yet, it is also
possible to remember the AWESOME that always resides at the center of
everything familiar … It is still always possible to make our days mysterious
and magical and memorable.
So instead of staying home and watching the same old life pass us by,
why not run headlong into the world? …
Set forth and catch the wind in the sails of our Soul!”
(~ inspired by Dalton Roberts)
(The more I gratefully immerse myself
into my “normal routines”, the more I come to realize that
there is absolutely nothing “normal” about them.)
93

Eternal Living …
(12/06/2012)
“The reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself.
Rather, it continually gives life to others as it repeatedly transforms.” ~ Lao Tzu
Make today about LOVE … Make today about Giving to everyone &
everything around you …
… and become eternal thereby.
94

Proper Greetings …
(12/06/2012)
“Fear knocked on the door.
Love answered …
… and found no one there.”
~ unknown
To greet another person’s person,
… you must first walk through the door of verbal courtesy.
To greet another person’s Soul,
… you must first walk through the door of emotional Caring.
And to greet your own Soul,
… you must first walk through the door of active Kindness.
95

Into Bliss …
(12/07/2012)
“No one can reveal to you anything but that which already lies within you.
Truth rests merely half-asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.”
~ inspired by Kahlil Gibran
Enlightenment is nothing more than the choice in any given moment to
enLiven your Life’s deepest Meaning; to reach out and -- even if only for one
instant -- to quench another’s deepest desire: the desire to be Loved.
Remember, even though there is in-deed a HUGE gap between merely
wanting to courageously Care for another and actually doing so, this gap is only as
wide as one small-yet-selfless Leap of Kindness.
So, as you go forth into the grand adventure that is today, avoid merely
standing motionless on the edge of your Awakening …
Go ahead … JUMP!
96

Courage to Care …
(12/07/2012)
“I hope the people will open their hearts now … That is what is so
needed. If we could just look at each other, very deep, then we would know
we are all basically the same. And if we could remember this, we could all
fall in Love with everyone.
I can even fall in Love with myself when I give such Love to others …
It really isn’t that hard at all.
We make it seem hard because we are afraid.
… But we don’t need to be afraid anymore.”
~ inspired by Doug (age 10)
97

Miracles abound …
(12/08/2012)
“We have isolated ourselves from the transcendent. If we get sick, we go to
a doctor. If we need food, we go to a store and buy it. We don’t allow our
neighbors to share their sustenance, and we no longer allow our bodies to heal of
their own accord. Some would say that this is a sign of “progress”; that our
expanding intelligence has exposed the ignorance that used to have us believing in
errant myths & hollow miracles … I would like offer a different perspective:
namely, the Truth that our myths are still full of Wisdom – we simply choose to
ignore them; and that miracles still occur every single day – we simply choose to
look away.
You see, by removing acts of courageous intimacy from our everyday lives
-- the flagrant Faith that used to allow the miraculous to caress us regularly, it is
WE who have discarded the amazing from our thoughts and the wondrous from
our lives.
And yet the fact remains: as long as LOVE exists, miracles will remain.
Indeed, the ability we each have to Care for strangers (& even our enemies)
transcends both instinct & ego … Some would say that such a choice transcends
even science itself. And it is this LOVE unconditional that is the true wonder of
being Human. It is this ability to be Kind even in our darkest hours that gives our
lives deep Meaning.
This is the LOVE of the child that walks on the water of our Souls … It is
this LOVE that is nothing short of a miracle. And how wonderful it is that this
miracle will always be right beside us, waiting just beyond barely-closed doors …
waiting patiently to sustain us and guide us and heal us.
Of course, no food can
nourish unless it is first placed
on one’s table …
… and no doctor can
cure unless she is first invited
into one’s Home.”
(~ inspired by Shane Claiborne)
98

Seeing the Self clearly …
(12/10/2012)
“It is the obvious which is so difficult to see most of the time. People say
‘It’s as plain as the nose on your face.’ But how much of the nose on your face can
you see, unless someone holds a mirror up to you?” ~ Isaac Asimov
The only mirror in which you can see your True Self clearly is the act of
Kindness you do for another …
The shocked face of your Cared-for enemy and the misty-eyed smile of the
Given-to stranger are the only reflections of your Self that are Real.
99

The Celebration …
(12/11/2012)
“Banish the word ‘struggle’ from your vocabulary. All that we do now
must be done in the sacred manner of celebration … For we are the ones we
have been waiting for.” ~ inspired by the Hopi Elders
Radical Kindness is the Celebration that will be our species’ ultimate
Salvation … So c’mon, my Friends;
The Party is ON!
100

Cleansing myths …
(12/11/2012)
“It is a very healthy endeavor now and then to hang a question mark on the
things you have long taken for granted.” ~ inspired by Bertrand Russell
… & where shall we start hanging those question marks? How about on
the following beliefs:
Belief #01: “It is both right & effective to punish “evil people” for their
crimes” … This one is simply not True. Condemning “evil people” by saddling
them with their “proper punishment” only serves to encourage them to repeat their
crimes again in the future.
Belief #02: “You have to take care of yourself before you can effectively
care for others” … This one is not True either. In fact, the only time your LOVE
is truly potent is when you give it to another while you are feeling “crappy” &/or
before you take care of yourself.
Belief #03: “You are powerless and cannot make any real difference by
yourself” … You got it — this one is patently false as well. What we choose to do
(and why we choose to do it) always has a HUGE impact on other people’s lives.
Please choose wisely, my Friends …
Please choose Compassion …
Please choose Kindness …
Please choose Love.
101

The Friendliness of enemies …
(12/12/2012)
“Our Friends give us the courage
to lift the veils from our hearts …
and our enemies give us
the opportunity to do so.”
~ anonymous
102

The Banquet of LOVE …
(12/12/2012)
“Wash your hands of all desire,
and come to the table of LOVE.” ~ Rumi
True LOVE (i.e. Caring for those who are not Caring for you) may
not look very appetizing, and yet it is absolutely delicious,
… once you start chowing down.
Bon appetit, my Friends!
103

Getting back UP …
(12/13/2012)
“Confidence is the food of the wise man
and the liquor of the fool.” ~ unknown
We can’t know real Peace in our lives as long as think we “have it all
figured out” … Life is far too unpredictable for our confidence, and far too
powerful for our pride. Indeed, no matter how well we are walking through our
days, one thing remains truly certain — we will indeed fall. Our successes will be
followed by failures, our victories will be followed by defeats and our pleasures
will be followed by moments painful.
And yet we need not fear our next tumble, for the ability to rise from defeat
is what makes life so amazingly powerful. After all, we are not here to merely “be
happy” or “have fun” or “know good times”. We are here to right ourselves after
we slip — to try again after we fail — to rise again after having been beaten down.
… And we are here to help others do the same.
So if you happen to be doing well, be grateful that you are standing …
If you happen to have fallen, simply choose to get back up.
And if you happen to see another take a tumble, remember to reach out a
Loving hand — and help them stand again.
104